Gregory J. Wilcox

Staff Writer

Recent articles

Local governments

The city of Los Angeles’ Public Safety Committee on Tuesday approved an agreement among three municipal departments to address the issue of hoarding conditions to better protect residents and neighbors who live adjacent to such properties.The agreement between the Los Angeles Fire Department, the city’s Department of Building and Safety and the Los Angeles Housing and Community Investment Department was structured to ensure continued collaboration in inspecting...

Real Estate

Southern California’s housing market turned in a mixed bag in October, with sales relatively flat compared to a year earlier and prices increasing, a market tracker said Tuesday.Last month sales of new and previously owned homes and condominiums for all six counties inched up just 0.3 percent from a year earlier to 19,976 transactions, said Irvine-based CoreLogic. Sales declined 6 percent from September. But last month’s total was the highest for an October since...

News

For the second year in a row, a Los Angeles Department of Water and Power supervisor topped the list of public employees who boosted their salaries with hefty overtime pay, a public sector compensation monitoring group said Tuesday.Last year, LADWP Electric Distribution Mechanic Supervisor Joseph Strafford earned $216,741 in overtime pay, boosting his annual earnings to $394,549, the highest of any special district worker surveyed, according to

Real Estate

Southern California’s residential housing market down-shifted into holiday mode during September, with sales basically flat from a year ago and the median price dipping to its lowest level since May, a market tracker said Wednesday.Last month sales of new and previously owned houses and condominiums dipped 0.8 percent from a year earlier to 20,927 properties, according to Irvine-based CoreLogic.And sales were down 9.5 percent from August.The median home price in...

Strikes

SAG-AFTRA, the union representing actors and voice over artists, says it did not want to call a strike against video game makers but it had no other choice.“This strike is not the union’s preferred outcome, but is necessary to let employers know SAG-AFTRA members will stand fast to their principles and not be exploited,” the union said in a statement posted on its website...

Government finance

A top Wells Fargo & Company executive apologized for the company’s alleged massive fraudulent account scam and outlined steps it’s taking to address the issue at a California Assembly committee hearing Wednesday in Calabasas. Facing elected representatives, city and state officials and San Fernando Valley residents, David Galasso – the company’s executive vice president for Northern and Central California community banking operations – pledged...

Home prices

Home sales across Southern California during August hit their highest level for that month in a decade, while prices remained at a nine-year high, a market tracker said Monday.Last month, sales of new and previously owned houses and condominiums in the six-county region increased 9.5 percent from a year earlier to 23,278 properties, said Irvine-based CoreLogic. Sales rose 8 percent...

September 11 attacks

EAGLE ROCK >> While some Occidental College students are condemning the destruction of a 9/11 memorial of miniature flags placed on campus, others are defending the vandals saying the American flag is “a symbol of institutionalized violence.”Occidental sophomore Alan Bliss, president and co-founder of the Occidental...

Celebrity legal affairs

Baylee Curran, the actress and former beauty queen who accused Chris Brown of aiming a gun at her during a gathering at his Tarzana home, is discovering the limelight can get hot.Curran called 911 Tuesday at 3:11 a.m. and said she needed help. A few hours later she sat down for several television interviews to give her account of what happened. It didn’t take long for the media to dig into her past and uncover unsavory details including a brush with the law and having a beauty...

Criminal investigations

TARZANA >> Chris Brown was arrested for alleged assault with a deadly weapon after a woman called 911 from outside the singer’s Tarzana home early Tuesday morning and said she needed help, Los Angeles police said.Police responded to Brown’s residence and later served a search warrant on the home as the singer took to social media to deny any wrongdoing and to condemn police. Shortly after 5 p.m., Los Angeles Police Department Lt. Chris Ramirez said, Brown...